Coming Around
by jaggedjacket
Summary: More Choji and Tenten fluff. Me no own. Choji won't let a little thing stop him from being able to get to Tenten.
1. Chapter 1

It all started innocently enough. Shikamaru slouched with his normal scowl on his face in the booth across from Ino beside his best friend Choji. It was the end of the lunch rush at one of Choji's favorite BBQ places, and they were waiting to have their order taken. The portions were ridiculously large, one of the benefits of the long established eatery, and for the price they were charging, it was pretty decent deal. Ino was busy pressing her ice water cup to her flushed face in between wiping of a mixture of sweat and condensation from her glass.

It had been a strenuous workout; his team had pushed themselves farther than their sensei would have normally, perhaps knowing that they didn't have him there to whip them into shape became the impetus for such a rigorous training schedule. Shikamaru glared out of the window they were seated at. He squinted into the late afternoon sun, and noted the large water spots against the double panes. Judging by the deep happy blue at the sparse edge of the sky almost lost against the skyline of Konoha, he might be able to get some serious cloud watching in during his flex time today. The heavy meal he was going to consume would inevitably lead to a nap in a grassy meadow. It was going to be a perfect afternoon.

Team Gai was making their way down the street, looking exhausted from their training, and discussing something amongst themselves as they opened the door to the restaurant.

"I don't understand why you can't let me run home to put leftovers away, or at least let me send a clone to do it," Tenten complained to her teammates.

Neji shook his head. "You are going to need your chakra levels high to complete our training. It is why Gai suggested this place to eat. The portions are larger than most restaurants. We need all the time we can get to start practicing."

They continued the discussion as they came upon them, and team Gai either waved or smiled at them and made their way into the booth behind Ino. The high-backed booths were another reason Shikamaru liked this eatery, as it served to satisfy his antisocial nature after training. He was grateful they didn't have to share conversation with the other team dining out, and Shikamaru let his head rest on the overstuffed cushions of the booth behind him as he listened to the whir of the over-head fans and the idle chatter of the other team. He tried not to be nosy, really, but Lee seemed to be louder than usual and suggested to Tenten to talk to the Akimichi behind her to see if he could help her with her predicament. Choji looked up from his menu at him with a brief sideways glance of confusion to his friend. Shikamaru unhelpfully just shrugged his shoulders.

Tenten popped her head over the top of the booth and smiled politely with a simple, "hey guys."

The two boys dumbly nodded at her arrival. Ino didn't bother to look above her where Tenten resided and sipped her ice water through her straw nonchalantly as she continued to scrutinize the menu.

"Hey Choji, if I order the number three, would you be able to eat half of it? It's not these guys favorite; they want to order a large order of spring rolls instead. Neji is kind of a baby when it comes to spicy…ow!" Tenten jerked her head down to her teammate who no doubt hit her at the snide comment. It left just one hand on the top of the booth and one of her buns visible to them as she briefly chewed them out.

"You don't even finish those spring rolls, anyways," Tenten argued after her retaliation which shook the back of Ino's side of the booth. Shikamaru and Choji exchanged dubious glances at each other until the Weapon's Mistress surfaced again, "Anyone like spring rolls?"

Choji and Shikamaru didn't have time to answer, because Ino suddenly piped up, which shocked the hell out of them since she had been quiet the whole time and they almost forgot she was there.

"Trade me spots," she announced, "spring rolls are my favorite, but I normally can't order them because I can't eat them all. This works out well." Then she crawled out of the booth and headed to the one behind her.

Tenten smiled, then looked up to Choji, "Well?" she asked Choji, who looked stunned by the whole ordeal of trading teammates, even if it was just for the lunch hour. "Mind if I join you?"

Shikamaru was about to speak up that she didn't need to come over to their booth to share the plate, she could easily send it over as soon as she ate her fill, when the man beside him spoke up instead.

"Red rover, red rover, let Tenten come over." Choji replied before Shikamaru could let out his dissent.

She smiled before ducking down, and Shikamaru used the time it took her to scramble over her teammate to shoot his friend a disapproving look. Choji gave him a stern eyebrow raise back at him, aphonically telling him to be nice. This earned him an audible grunt of disgust from him as she slid into the booth where Ino had just been as Choji and Tenten exchanged smiles.

Tenten looked slightly offended by the derision, and quickly wiped the smile off of her face at his blatant act of unwelcome to her.

"Don't mind him," Choji quickly apologized for him with a playful wink. "He still thinks girls have cooties."

Shikamaru couldn't help but roll his eyes at her slight blush as the two shared a laugh. Choji placed a foot on top of his and started to apply pressure, never once taking his eyes off of the girl in front of him. Shikamaru looked stupidly from under the table where Choji's foot threatened to crush his own and back to his friend beside him. The threat to behave himself was duly noted.

"Let me out, I need to use the bathroom," Shikamaru interrupted Choji's anecdote, the one he always told to impress a girl. Choji smiled half-heartedly to him, and got up to let him out.

Once out of the booth, Shikamaru made a quick apology, and dragged Choji down the narrow rows of booths to a secluded corner. The Akimichi shook off Shikamaru's death grip with a frown.

"What the hell?" Shikamaru started in.

"That's my line," Choji countered, then with a confused look he asked, "What are you _doing_?"

Shikamaru straightened and hissed in a hushed tone, "What are _you_ doing?" he pulled him in closer, "are you flirting with her?" he accused.

"So what if I am?" he shook the man off again. "What difference does it make to you?"

To this, all Shikamaru could do is gape, until something entered his brain and he responded with it before he got a chance to fully think it through, "She's not interested, why are you wasting your time?"

If Shikamaru was shocked by his pernicious comment, the hurt in his friend's eyes certainly clued him in that he had crossed a line.

"Thanks, Shikamaru." He said bitterly, "I'll keep that in mind." And he was already slipping back in the booth and smiling at Tenten before his supposed genius brain could tell him that he had just acted like a jerk to his best friend. He sauntered back after using the loo, only to find that Choji had ordered his favorite plate for him, so Shikamaru figured he had no hard feelings. It wasn't until he took a bit of his food and realized that Choji had mixed in a heaping spoonful of red pepper flakes in it while he was gone that the thought occurred to him that he just might happen to still be pissed at him after all.

Shikamaru smiled to cover up that his tongue had been scorched and quickly swallowed before draining his water glass. So much for a full stomach to help lull him to sleep in a bunny filled meadow.

"Something wrong with your food, Shikamaru?" Tenten asked as he had just pushed the plate in front of him.

"Too spicy," he muttered with an askance look at his friend, who ignored the comment and continued to forage his plate innocuously.

"I can get you a new plate," she offered picking it up before Shikamaru had a chance to protest. "I'll be right back."

As soon as she was out of sight, Shikamaru shoved his friend hard in the shoulder, causing him to drop his chopsticks.

"Asshole," Shikamaru growled, "this just proves that Tenten is nice to everyone, not just you. You didn't have to sabotage my lunch. I thought you had had more respect for food than that." He ended his comment with another sigh of disquiet before Tenten came back with a steaming plate full of his favorite dish.

"Seems yours got mixed up with Lee's. He orders the same thing only with extra spices. I figured they mixed yours up when I overheard Lee say something about his being bland. Half his plate was gone before he realized it. Cook apologizes and says your meal is on the house." She explained and then began to eat again, completely unaware of the scathing look Choji was giving him as he superimposed his arms across his chest.

"Sorry Choji," Shikamaru muttered, and humbly took a bite of his food, deftly avoiding his look of killing intent and frown the man firmly pinned on him.

"What's wrong?" Tenten asked innocently, looking up from her plate of food. Choji quickly reassured her that nothing was wrong with a smile.

"Clumsy me, I dropped my chopsticks, I will be right back," he winked at her and quickly left to booth. Shikamaru noticed that the color increased on Tenten's cheeks from his subtle flirting, making the scowl on his face deepen just a bit more.

He took the time that Choji was away at the table to observe the kunoichi. She was pushing her food around her plate aimlessly, then suddenly she looked up at him with an embarrassed look.

"Do you know if Choji is seeing any one?" she rushed out firmly, folding her hands in her lap nervously.

Shikamaru chewed slowly several more times and swallowed before answering. "Why?"

Shikamaru was hoping that he wouldn't have to answer her directly before Choji returned. She cleared her throat and swallowed her pride.

"I was just wondering," she tried to make it seem like an offhanded comment than the serious question that it was. Then she looked up with all sincerity into Shikamaru's eyes for the answer, a bare part of her soul laid out before him as she waited for him to respond. The moment of vulnerability didn't go unnoticed and Shikamaru only managed to continue to chew anther bite of his food in reply. Luckily he had stalled long enough for the man in question to return to the booth and pick up eating where he had left off.

Tenten returned the man's reticence with a wry look before smiling all out as Choji looked up at her. The two chatted affably with each other throughout the rest of the meal, much to Shikamaru's annoyance.

As it turned out, Choji had just moved into her apartment complex a few days ago, and Tenten had very much noticed his presence there.

"My last apartment was a hole in the wall." Choji laughed at his misfortune, "a place down on Second,"

"And Main?" Tenten interrupted with awe at the coincidence.

"Yeah. Don't tell me you lived there before too?" She nodded with a laugh.

"Mr. Hiri-"

"Sashi" Choji finish with her, "yeah. Hell of a nice guy. The place was a dump though. You said live in the Torokuma Building, too?" Choji asked.

She nodded. "We just got back from a mission yesterday, I saw you this morning in the laundry room before I rushed off to practice."

"Oh, yeah," Choji realized with awe, "I was a bit distracted by the washer eating my coins mercilessly to say hi, sorry. I believe I was cursing at that metal can when you were getting something out of the vending machine."

"Yeah, you will want to avoid that one." She pointed out, "The super has yet to replace it, or put an out of order sign on it. And use the dryer all the way in the corner if you can." She spoke quickly, remembering, "It has the loudest buzzer, so you can hear it all the way in the basement if you leave your kitchen window open when your laundry is done."

"That is very clever," Choji commented, "I wish I had the sense to talk to you earlier instead Hulk-smashing the washer before training this morning."

Shikamaru noted the look of amusement in her eyes as they made their way up to the counter to pay. She playfully touched his shoulder in mock shock, "You didn't! Mr. Hakinawa will have a conniption!"

Choji was smiling back, "There may be an Akimichi-sized dent in the side by the coin slot," he said leaning in conspiratorially, "Don't tell anyone."

Then Choji turned his attention to the counter and paid for both his and Tenten's plates. Shikamaru was thoroughly agitated by this. They were openly flirting with each other and it was making him nauseous. Not to mention he was paying for her meal; Choji was laying it on thick.

"You didn't have to pay for the entire plate," Tenten argued, trying to give Choji at least her share of the meal. Choji clearly refused by shaking his head and putting his hands in the air to avoid touching the proffered money.

"No, consider it hush money for not telling anyone about the washer," he leaned in closer to whisper loudly, which earned a giggle from Tenten. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear in a coquette manner as she adjusted her gaze on him, and Shikamaru rolled his eyes as he muscled between them up to the counter to pay.

"Your meal was free, Shikamaru," Choji voiced to his friend, who sufficiently wedged himself between the two, clearly irritating them both. Choji sniffed at him and stared at him and his rude behavior, eyes half-lidded. He did not look amused by Shikamaru's antics.

It was enough of a break though, as the rest of team Gai was getting antsy for Tenten to follow them out of the building to resume training. Tenten brushed past Shikamaru, before he could stop it and Choji trucked behind her effectively cutting him off from another frontal assault. He decided to catch up, if only to continue to be obnoxious in his attempt to deter her from talking to him.

"Nakimori-sama in 304 will insist you come over tonight for dinner. She makes all the handsome young shinobi stop by at least once a month to make sure they eat a large meal. And since she's already asked me about you, I told her I would extend the invitation if I ran into you today."

Shikamaru found himself rolling his eyes as she continued. "I could come over early, help you unpack, if you like."

"I'd like that," Choji smiled again. "What apartment number are you?"

"411, end of the hall, you're in 403, right?"

"Yeah, same floor."

Neji was clearing his throat impatiently. "See you after training," she waved, and team Gai disappeared down the street.

There was a moments lingering after they had left, Ino finally came up between them and grabbed Choji's arm with out asking, a now very lively smile on her face.

"I am going to help get you ready for your date!" She squealed, dragging the Akimichi behind her.

The alarm on Choji's face would have been humorous, if his puppy-dog eyes hadn't pleaded with Shikamaru to kill him on the spot. Shikamaru figured he'd been enough of a jerk to his best friend for one day, and decided to help the poor man out instead of being a hindrance. He followed behind them, shoving his hands inside his pockets with a defeated sigh. So much for cloud watching, he thought abruptly.

"He's mine today, Ino," Shikamaru insisted, "he still has to unpack and I promised that I would help him do that today. You can play dress up later."

For a moment there was a bit of tug of war on Choji's massive arms as he was yanked back and forth between the two, each one shouting at each other and turning red.

"As much fun as this is guys," Choji pulled out his clan's jutsu and grabbed each of them with a giant fist and pulled them apart, "I think there is enough of me to share. _As long as you both behave_." He pinned them each with a stern look, "why don't you both come over. Ino," he looked at her first, "you can help me look presentable, and Shikamaru," he breathed a heavy sigh as he turned in his direction, "just be nice." It sounded threatening, and the slight squeeze the man used to constrict his chest confirmed that Choji wasn't speaking lightly.

They both nodded and Choji let them go, taking off in the direction of his apartment leaving Ino and Shikamaru to dumbly look at each other and blink. Then Ino tore off after Choji with a child's shriek of delight, talking faster and higher and louder than what his current decibel threshold could handle and he instinctively held both hands up to his ears as he walked.

Women were so troublesome.

(o)


	2. Chapter 2

Choji's apartment was still in a state of transition. Considerably larger than his last sorry excuse for an apartment, it had, in Shikamaru's mind, great potential. A large bay window lined the outside wall letting in large amounts of sunshine, the kitchen area design allotted for a decent amount of counter space, and Choji's room was small, yes, but Choji didn't care. Shikamaru busied himself by attempting to put a lamp together, and was failing miserably since the instructions appeared to be in a language that _was not_ Japanese. Ino got to rummaging through boxes that Choji's mom had recovered from the complex, stuff that Choji hadn't seen in years. By the looks of the layout of the lamp, Shikamaru reasoned that he needed to twist some wires together, or run it through a hole, or both. He scowled at the wires as he forcibly shoved them through an opening, silently praying when he plugged the lamp in he wouldn't blow a fuse, or electrocute himself. Getting frustrated by putting slot A into slot B and fearing the exposed wire were going to detonate something, he raised his voice to ask Ino for help. Perhaps she knew how to read Russian, or take pity on him and put the lamp together herself or perhaps mind-jutsu him out of his missery.

Randomly jamming another part aimlessly into another with more frustrated forcefulness, he finally looked up from his mind-numbing task to see what Ino was doing.

Ino was staring at a card, and when Shikamaru noticed all of the scattered photos around her, he realized that it was actually a picture. She looked lost with her watery blue eyes in a haze, holding the photo close to her face with sober reverence. Shikamaru dropped his post at not getting anything remotely helpful accomplished, and huddled next to Ino to shuffle through old photos with her.

Choji soon joined them, and they all three splayed out on the floor of his apartment, unpacked boxes forgotten. Soon one photo after the next segwayed into another story, all three were telling part of a story about their past sensei, in random bits and pieces, misstellings and forgotten moments picked up by one of them. It was like he was there in the room with them and they could almost smell his cigarette smoke. Then Choji pulled out a lighter from within the last few miscellaneous items of the box and looked at Shikamaru, who looked at Ino, who nodded her accent. Shikamaru patted his pocket that he carried his cigarettes in, just for this occasion. They all three headed for the door, knowing full well Shikamaru couldn't smoke inside the building.

Once outside, they leaned against the outside wall of the building, each ruminating over the nostalgia that coincided with the smoky cloud surrounding them.

Team Gai came bounding around the corner, bickering loudly amongst themselves, and as they approached it wasn't hard to see why.

Tenten was soaking wet from head to toe, her white clothes sticking to her like a second skin, droplets of water still running off of her body. She held her arms over her chest in a protective manner, obviously she didn't want to give away exactly _how_ cold she was dripping wet. Her face was tinted pink, no doubt from shouting at her teammates, who seemed to be having a laugh at her expense, and not hiding it well.

"You must confront your fears!" Lee youthfully, "how else will you be able to overcome them?"

"Come on Tenten, it was only practice!" Neji pleaded half-heartedly like a last ditch effort to say that he was sorry, but not at all really. The not-so-well-hidden smirk was visible at team tens distance, even Lee was having a hard time stifling a snort of laughter at the kunoichi's expense.

"What exactly were you practicing? Being assholes? You blindfolded me and threw me in the lake under the pretence that it was a training exercise! You both are lucky I need to get ready for dinner with Nakimori-sama or I would be digging a damn hole for both of your corpses right now!" She turned and stalked off, slamming the secured entry door behind her.

Neji and Lee were too engaged in trying to get Tenten's attention to notice team ten, lounging against the shadows in the early evening, watching the interplay with the clearly dysfunctional team. Choji, Ino, and Shikamaru all exchanged a brief nod of thanks from one another, if only to remind them how much they appreciated each other for not doing stupid things to each other like the unstable team they had just witnessed seconds ago. A brief head nod to the sky from all of them also hailed Asuma for not being the psychotic sensei that Gai rumored to be. They looked back just in time to see Neji elbow Lee in the side and point to the fire escape on the other end of the building. Ino was shaking her head as she followed her two teammates out of curiosity. Shikamaru could tell she was thinking the words, "if you two ever did that to me…" and followed it up with no doubt, a promise of disembowelment or torture or a shopping trip with her or all of the above. Team ten kept well hidden as they watched both Neji and Lee climb up the fire escape to the fourth floor so quickly, they heard what happened before they saw it.

Tenten heard it too, the odd metal bending noise that sounded like a metal bar being bend into a U shape suddenly. She had her window open only seconds after the noise began, screaming at Lee that her fire escape couldn't hold the weight of him with his weights on.

But it was too late.

Shikamaru would have watched the fire escape tear away from her window, it was one of those rare moments of awe and destruction that you never get to see in person and that some lucky bastard captures on video for gobs of money to sell to some shitty TV show. The black bars bounced unceremoniously with warped enthusiasm on the hard earth below it, stirring the denizens of the apartment inside. He was surprised the metal platform didn't break a window upon its decent.

No, Shikamaru was more interested in the kunoichi who came to the window, throwing it open with haste and leaning out of it in her robe. In her robe that had somehow gotten untied during the whole incident, and how his best friend's eyes were glued to her half-naked figure. Even Shikamaru had to admit she was one hellova looker. She was already rewrapping her robe around herself before Shikamaru had time to blink, and the sound of the medal railings crashing to the ground helped jolt him out of his contemplative haze. But the damage was done, not only to the fire escape, but to his friend as well. It might have only been a split second, but her hair was down in ropes of wet locks that fell over her shoulders, and the lacey black bra he saw wasn't about to leave his head.

"Whoa," Choji let out with awe. Shikamaru wasn't sure weather it was from the metal folding up in on itself on the ground that had been hanging against the side of the building moments ago or if it was from the kunoichi he had just seen.

His money was on the kunoichi.

Troublesome.

Miraculously, the damage was only to the top part of the fire escape, Neji and Lee had landed safely below, half a second before the scraps of metal came tumbling after. Team ten rushed over to them, evaluating the damage done. Tenten had disappeared from her spot at her window. No doubt she would soon reappear on the lawn with them, and probably with a sharp pointy weapon for her to skewer her teammates like soft fluffy marshmallows.

Just like he had predicted, she rounded the corner, but instead of coming at them with killing intent, there was a note of concern as she evaluated her teammates up and down, checking for bruising and scratchings.

"Are you hurt?" she fussed over them like a mother hen, inspecting their faces and limbs, "Did you get hit? Any scratches or head trauma?" she continued, despite the eye rolling both of them gave her as they turned around and made sure there were both unharmed.

She wrapped her bathrobe around her tight, and tied the knot with a whip of her long arms. "Are you two insane?" she hissed in a low tone, "my landlord might just kill me when he finds out that I broke the fire escape! I actually like where I live! Why on earth are you two being such jerks to me today!" She broke threw their lines, slamming into each of their shoulders as she tore off for her apartment again. "I have to talk with my landlord, excuse me."

Shikamaru and Choji nodded to each other as they no longer became onlookers and decided to participate. The damage to the fire escape could easily be repaired, if they could find a way to weld it back on the side of the building. Neji and Lee explained that they would get it done first thing in the morning, and that they didn't need to fuss over it.

Ino had already gone off to talk to Tenten, and Shikamaru could see her silhouette in the window next to Tenten's from where he was situated on the ground. All that settled, they trudged their way back to Choji's apartment, and met Ino on the way in.

"She is pretty upset," Ino shrugged passively, "not that I blame her. If you two _ever_ become that idiotic…" she threatened.

"We won't." The two boys said firmly in unison. Neither were that stupid, nor suicidal.

"It's getting late," Ino yawned, "and Choji has dinner plans." Shikamaru noticed that devilish smirk played on her lips again, and his scowl somehow found his face again. Choji smiled and swallowed nervously, and disappeared down the hall sporting a clean shirt. Shikamaru reasoned that was a wise decision; smelling like smoke would not make the best impression on his new neighbors. Ino approved of his choice, and together they sent him off with a bag of tea leaves in hand.

Shikamaru walked Ino home, if only to prove that not all teammates were complete jackasses.

"I think she likes him," she nearly pranced with excitement on to her doorstep, "she was asking about him the whole time I was up at her apartment."

"Troublesome woman," Shikamaru tried to mutter under his breath, but Ino heard him anyways.

"What is so wrong with Choji dating Tenten?" she asked suddenly, and Shikamaru shuffled his hands into his pockets.

"It could get awkward if they live in the same apartment building," was the only argument that left his mouth.

"Nice," Ino crossed her arms over her chest, "that is all you can come up with?" she raised a thin blond eyebrow at him.

"He is already all the way across town, Ino." He raised his voice as he managed to take a hand out of his pocket to gesture where they had just come from. "Chicks are troublesome," he nearly whispered, embarrassed by his outburst as he replaced his hand back in his pocket.

"That doesn't mean he is going to leave us behind, Shikamaru," Ino spoke softly to comfort him, "Tenten won't replace you, you are his best friend."

He let his scowl melt a little because he knew that what she said was true. Choji was the best friend a guy could ever want. He was loyal and easygoing, fun to be around and not quirky or obnoxious. There was just one downfall to the big guy.

He was completely lovable.

This proved to be a problem to Shikamaru on more than one level. He didn't know how to share, he was an only child for Kami's sake. And he didn't _want_ to share Choji and, if Shikamaru was really honest with himself, it was more than that.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, "I've been kind of a jerk about it."

"Well," Ino added unhelpfully, "you may be smart, but like every guy your age, you are still emotionally retarded."

He hunched over some more, "Thanks Ino, I appreciate the insight."

"How bout we play some cards and have some tea," she offered, "I have some leftovers in the fridge if we get hungry."

He perked up considerably at this. He may not have Choji close by, but Ino was good company one on one, weather he wanted to admit it to himself or not.

"I'd like that. Thanks, Ino."

Shikamaru reluctantly went home late into the evening. Ino had made good on keeping him occupied, even baked him his favorite dessert just to give him an excuse not to go home to a cold apartment early.

Team ten gathered the next morning, late in the morning, as they hadn't scheduled a practice due to their mission late in the evening. Shikamaru hauled his butt across town to Choji's new apartment and was pulled inside so quickly by a giant paw he thought he might see stars by the sudden action.

"Damn, man, what's gotten into you," he swiped at the front of his shirt to get the wrinkles out from the fist his friend had used to pull him inside.

Choji closed the door quietly, "She was here last night."

"Yeah, she said she was going to help you unpack." Shikamaru droned, taking note of the panic playing on his friends face.

"No, I mean she _stayed here_, last night."

"What are you nuts? You slept with her already?" Shikamaru nearly yelled at him.

"No! No!" he waved his hands in front of him with alarm. "No, she couldn't stay in her apartment last night because it was a safety violation. So I told her that she could stay in my apartment. We had a really nice time at the neighbors with dinner, and I didn't want the evening to end. Not to mention I didn't want her camping out on the lawn with her mission gear. So I slept on the couch and she took my bed."

Shikamaru just stared at him. Not blinking, just an openly reverent, perfectly still stare.

"You like her," it wasn't really a question, though he was sure that it came out almost like one.

Choji shook his head, confirming Shikamaru's fears from yesterday. The stupid idiot had gotten himself a crush.

"What are you going to do?" Shikamaru fell into the couch, Choji followed beside him, looking thoroughly at a loss.

"I don't know, I've never liked anyone before. Not even Ino."

"What's Ino got to do with this?" he asked a little more defensively than he meant to. Choji gave him one of his famous looks. Those looks where Choji didn't have to say anything and Shikamaru knew exactly what he was saying.

"I had dinner with her yesterday. At her house. She made leftovers." There he said it. They hung out when Choji wasn't there. It was about time he knew what he had reduced him to.

"So, did you kiss her?" Choji interrupted his thoughts on how they played card games on the floor of her apartment, wrapped up tightly in blankets and Shikamaru paying more attention to the way the warm glow of the lamp lit up her features.

"What? No! Don't be ridiculous! It's Ino, Choji. She is our teammate. Don't be absurd."

"Don't you mean 'troublesome?'" he asked.

"Yeah, that, too." Shikamaru stood up suddenly. "Let's get lunch, my treat."

"Chicken." Choji reasoned to call him, although Shikamaru played it off as him announcing what he wanted to eat as he grabbed his coat. "We are picking up Ino on the way." He placed a large hand on his friends shoulder. Shikamaru frowned, knowing that Choji would expect more just a few brief words concerning last night. As troublesome as it was, he could probably use some help sorting out his feelings.

Choji forcibly made him eat a picnic with him and Ino on a grassy area he had cloud watched notoriously in his genin days. The crisp cold day made warm by the blinding rays of the fall sun. In truth, Shikamaru could have stayed there forever, listening to his team mates rattle on about idle matters with his hands behind his head and a full belly to lull him to sleep.

Choji was starting in on the dirty details from last night and Ino involuntarily shivered. Without thinking much, he reached a lanky arm around her waist and pulled her over to him, and she let out a satisfying sound of being taken unawares. "We can share body heat," he explained sleepily as her body finally relaxed next to his.

Part of his sleepy brain was paying attention to Choji and the other part was completely distracted by Ino's soft body against his.

He listened patiently for the explanation he was searching for, as to why she stayed the night at his place.

"She tried to explain to our neighbor that she had to leave early because she had to get her camping gear in order. I asked if she was going on a mission, but it turned out she couldn't stay in her apartment if it wasn't up to code. So I offered her my bed and slept on the couch. When I took her back to my place, we talked for a while over tea, she read my palm, and we went to sleep. In the morning, I got up and she was gone. She left a note, thanking me for letting her stay over. I want to ask her out today before we leave for our mission. I think she likes me."

When Ino spoke, it wasn't a squeal of delight like he was expecting, but a lower-than-normal tone that helped lull him into his stupor.

"I think so, too," Ino replied, "so what did she tell you about your palm?"

Shikamaru noted the slight pause, which meant his friend was probably blushing. He opened his eyes to sneak a peek to confirm his suspicions. The tinge of pink flushed his face and Shikamaru couldn't help but smirk from the outcome.

"She told me that I had met some one special last week." He smiled brightly, "then amended that she was likely to be a week off, give or take. Then I tried to read hers."

"Well," Ino prodded and Shikamaru had trouble keeping his eyes open. "Since I know you don't know how to read palms, what did you tell her?"

Shikamaru basked in the longer pause, nearly falling completely asleep with the absence of words.

"I told her she was adventurous, kind hearted, brave, resourceful, and then it deteriorated into how cute I thought her hands were, and eventually I told her that she was going to meet some one in a week. Give or take a week. Some one who would think she was funny, and charming and very," Shikamaru could nearly _hear_ him blush, "_adorable_." Chojii cleared his throat. "I'm pretty sure she thought that was lame." He confessed fervently. Ino was probably reassuring her with a classic Ino smile.

"Awe, Choji, that is sweet."

Shikamaru grunted, though he was sure no one could intelligibly understand that he was trying to communicate that he agreed.

"I think caveman Shikamaru agrees. Ask her out. The worst that could happen is she says no." Ino stated.

Shikamaru finally sat up. Hunched over and lazily squinting into the sun, he offered, "What if you invited her to go out with all of us? Make it easier to double date than do one by yourself. What do you say Ino? You've been wanting to try that new restaurant by the lake for a while. We can all go after our mission."

Choji and Ino were staring at each other dumbfounded that the indolent man had finally contributed something useful to the conversation, and had sat up to do so.

"Yeah," Ino conceded with a stunned look, Choji just nodded.

"Good," he pulled Ino down next to him when he fell back and nuzzled into her hair until he fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Choji was a bundle of nerves. A large Akimichi-sized bundle of sweaty-palms and shallow-breaths and might-throw-up nerves. Deciding that perhaps he needed a glass of water before he could work up the nerve to ask her, he turned into the stairwell to go up to his apartment to drench his cotton-dry mouth. He plowed through the door, opening it up with too much force, all without him trying to. Nervous Akimichis sometimes didn't know their own strength. Of course, he then realized that he needed to reign in his leaky chakra, and tone it down a bit or he would end up inadvertently hurting a civilian, something he definitely didn't want to do.

Of course, being as side tracked as he was, he plowed into the one person he was looking for on his way to avoid her.

"Sorry," he immediately apologized, "Tenten, I am so sorry," he reached out with a large nervous hand to help her up, his voice echoing slightly in the stairwell.

She smiled, and reached out so he could pull her up. He couldn't tell if he had pulled too forcefully or if she had lost her balance, all he knew is that she had gone from on the floor to firmly planted in his chest. "Are you alright?" he asked as she slowly peeled herself from him, now smiling up at him with a faint flush on her delicate features. His hands had somehow found her shoulders, and she finally shook her head that she was, indeed, okay.

He fought with himself not to keep his hands there on her shoulders, and perhaps they lingered just a bit longer, but she smiled politely up at him finally, and he couldn't help but foolishly smile back like a dolt. Pieces of her hair were starting to come out from her immaculate buns, forming limp strands by the base of her neck. She had obviously just come back from training; he could smell the forest on her and some kind of hint of a flower. He wondered slightly to himself if that we some indigenous species on the training grounds or if she intentionally put the scent on before practice. Whatever it was, it smelled like something special, like when his grandmother would let him "help" make cookies with her when she came over before festivals. He remembered the smell of faint perfume on his grandma mixing with the cookies she baked in the oven. It was a scent he hadn't smelled since she died many years ago, and he was surprised by the overwhelming memory the subtle scent brought up. Regardless, he should probably refrain from telling her that she smelled like his dead grandmother. Clearing his throat to break the silence, he smiled again.

"I was actually looking for you."

This startled him. He was actually going to say exactly that. His shock must have shown on his face, but she continued anyways.

"I wanted to thank you for last night," she began sheepishly; "I owe you one."

"My pleasure. Anytime. If you need a place to stay tonight, you can crash at my place, I'm leaving on a mission, so I won't be there, but you are welcome to stay."

Another smile from her and she shrugged, "Thanks."

His brain was stalling as he was watching her adjust her weapons pouch, tilting it on her hip for lack of something better to do. He followed the pouch to her side, wide spread hips attached to long, slender legs. She tightened her gloves afterwards, another out-of-habit action done instead of throwing a kunai.

"My team is going out for dinner when we get back. I was wondering if you wanted to come. If you don't have a mission," he cleared his throat nervously again, "or a boyfriend."

There was a few moments of touch-and-go where he thought for sure she was going to say no, the surprise in her big brown eyes surely spoke of previous engagements.

"I would love to," she nearly stammered out, "how long is your mission?"

"Four days," he informed her.

"Dangerous?" she asked taking a step closer to him, a glint of something in her eye he couldn't place. Was she concerned?

"Probably," he shrugged it off. Weren't they all these days?

She walked up slowly, like a predator, yet innocent and only full of good intention. She slowly snaked up against his chest on tip-toe, and brushed her lips across his cheek. The action seemed to last longer than it probably actually did, but the soft lips that buzzed the side of his face were gentle and full of hope. "Be safe," she offered before slipping through the metal door and out of the stairwell.

Choji eventually shook his head to help him come to his senses before touching the place on his cheek where she burned her lips on his skin.

(o)

The night came with a bundle of nerves coupled with flowers, which only seemed to confuse the girl in question. Choji took the time to appreciate her curvy body as she explained to him that they were beautiful. He might have let it slip out that they weren't nearly as gorgeous she was, and he couldn't be sure if he actually said it or not, but he suspected the blush on her face was from his blatant staring.

Since they were meeting his teammates at the restaurant, they walked together through the streets of Konoha, chatting amiably, arm in arm.

Dinner had gone smoothly; Shikamaru took to being a complete gentleman to Ino, who seemed appreciative of the fact that he had taken some initiative in pursuing her like a lady and not just conveniently like a teammate.

Then he found himself back at his place with a very beautiful girl in his lap, vaguely aware of time passing. He was too busy placing his nose along the crevices of her neck while they talked, mostly speaking in low thrumming grunts of agreement with her as she spoke. They talked about her tentative upcoming escort mission to Grass, and Choji's last mission where Shikamaru nearly lit himself on fire he was so distracted by Ino.

"I still cannot believe that some one as beautiful as you, would be into some one like me," he confessed into her hair, the smell intoxicating and dulling his senses.

"I can," her velvet voice as soft as her skin. "My first crush was an Akimichi."

"Oh," Choji couldn't seem to stop the mild amusement out of his voice as he ghosted the back of his fingers down her arm, relishing in the light touch.

"Yeah, one of your cousins, I would imagine, I haven't seen him around since I took the Chunin exams."

"That was nearly a decade ago," Choji mused.

"Hey," she squeezed his hand playfully, "I did say it was my first crush, didn't I? I think the guy was younger." He could tell she was trying to drudge up the details of her past.

He placed a kiss on her the slope of her shoulder, "So what is it about us Akimichis that you find so attractive?"

She shrugged, "I fight with weapons, but this guy _was_ a weapon. Strong, but I could tell he had a big heart. Brave, and nearly loyal to a fault," she smiled as she tried to turn to him. "I'm a sucker for teddy bears with teeth," she laughed. "You probably know him, he shares the same name you do. I didn't think Choji popular. Must be a family name in your clan."

To this, Choji tried to wrack his brain to come up with another Choji even close to his age with in his clan. "What did he look like?" He asked curiously, still unabashed from his chore of exploring her shoulder with the pads of his fingertips.

"Lighter hair than you, he had a scarf. Wore a clan shirt. You know, Choza's son."

Choji straightened. Was she serious?

"You're kidding right," Choji had turned her to him, just to make sure he read the expression right on her face.

"What?" she asked, a bit startled by his actions, "It was just a silly crush, Choji," she defended herself, "it's not like the Akimichi heir would give me the time of day, I don't think you have to worry about me running off into the sunset with him."

"What?" Choji blinked, clearly stupefied by her words.

"Sorry," she apologized quickly, "you hang around Gai and Lee long enough, and you are bound to start talking like them."

"You think the Akimichi heir wouldn't give you the time of day?" he asked befuddled.

"No offence to your cousin." She clarified, "he would just be too busy, I would imagine. He probably wouldn't be able to step off of Akimichi property after all of the destruction. Heirs like him are damn near tethered to their property. Hinata was telling me that she couldn't get a place of her own, even if she tried, too many clan responsibilities."

"Unless their was extensive damage to the property and most of the buildings and you ask the council to leave so other members of the clan could stay in your stead."

She stood up.

"What?" It was vaguely accusing, her surprised tone.

"Tenten, Choza is _my_ father. _I_ am the Akimichi heir." She took a step back at his words, as if they were attacking her. It was this transition that caused him alarm.

"No," she shook her head, her expression becoming more frightened than anything. She kept stepping backwards until she was by the front door.

"Wait, Tenten," Choji held up his hands in an attempt to calm her down, but it was too late. She was looking around wildly like a scared animal, ready to bolt.

"I have to go," she spoke breathlessly, and in a rush left his apartment. Choji scrambled to follow her, opening his door and shouting down the hallway to her.

"Tenten! Wait!"

She was already slipping a key in her door and turning it open before Choji could even get halfway down the hall.

But it was the look on her face that scared him.

Because she herself looked scared. Scared of him. It was written in her eyes, the scared look, mixed with betrayal and hurt.

She slammed the door in his face.

"Tenten, let me in! Tell me what's wrong!" His massive fists threatened to break down her meager door as he pounded on it.

"Go away!" She shouted weakly through the door, which Choji could only imagine was because she was crying.

"Not until you tell me what all of this is about! Why does it upset you that I am Choza's son?" He pressed his forehead to the door, then stated a bit quieter, "Tell me what's going on. If I upset you, I am so sorry."

More stifled sniffing and crying on the other side of the door.

"Just tell me what I did wrong," He pleaded again. "Please."

Something told him he wasn't going to get inside her apartment.

How had he screwed this up so badly before he even got to properly kiss her?

He swore to himself loudly, and waited until he could no longer hear her sobbing before taking off to see the one person who could possibly help him.

He needed to see Lee.

(O)

"I need your help," Choji stated to the ninja rubbing his eyes sleepily with his thumbs.

Squinting one eye, the shirtless shinobi motioned for the large man to enter his humble abode.

"What can I help you with," Lee began and stopped abruptly.

"Choji." He provided quickly.

"What can I help you with, Choji-san," Lee managed through a thick yawn.

"I'm sorry to bother you so late." Choji began, "but it's Tenten."

This quickly brought the sleepy man out of his languid state.

"What is wrong with Tenten?" Lee snapped to attention, causing his eyes to narrow in on the man twice as large as he was. "Choji?" Lee recalled suddenly, "Are you the Choji that Tenten had a date with tonight or Choza's son?"

Choji wasn't sure how to respond to that. "Yes?" He said with uncertainty.

"Well," Lee found his shirt and put it on, "Which one is it?"

"Both."

"Well, then," Lee started again putting on his sandals. He provided no more information as to why that might upset Tenten. "Let's go."

Apparently Lee's idea of being helpful meant shutting the door in his face as soon as Lee entered Tenten's threshold, leaving Choji outside her apartment again.

He gave up after half an hour of camping outside her door and headed to his apartment for some restless sleep.

He dragged himself to his family compound early in the morning to help with reconstructing houses. With his father, together they hauled frames of houses side by side until the late afternoon sun stung their eyes and Choza's wife called them inside to finally eat a decent meal.

The spread lay out before them was modest, yet suitable for a long days work. Akimichi needed nearly twice as many calories as a normal shinobi to keep up with their clan's jutsu, but some how, Choji didn't quite seem as concerned with his caloric intake as he would have normally. He half-heartedly nibbled on some rice balls after only consuming half of his plate. His father eyed him wearily, taking note of his son's distracted behavior.

"We have a very important clan meeting tonight, son," Choza attempted to bring Choji out of his contemplation.

"Yes, Father," Choji obediently agreed.

The leader of the Akimichi clan knew his son well enough to know when something was troubling him. "The Elders agreed that it is time for you to settle down and take a wife. You will be meeting a girl from Grass they hope to arrangements nuptials with, we have asked for a team to escort the lady in question to Konoha provided you have no contention with the arrangement." Choza watched his son's face turn a pallid color as the blood drained from his face.

"Wait, I have a choice?" Choji's voice became so low that it was almost whispered. Choza nodded. "I don't have to marry someone I don't know from another village?" Choza nodded again. His son seemed quite relieved and let out a sigh followed by a full breath of air.

"I take it you are wanting to find a bride on your own?" His son nodded, and Choza took his fists under his chin and contemplatively responded, "Good, I never did like her father, always assured the Council that he was a snake in the Grass. Pun intended of course. Other members agree with me of course, but it still means they might try to negotiate other offers with other clans outside the village. Unless," Choza lifted a hand, and referenced offhandedly, "you were dating someone serious from with the walls of our own village. They would respect your boundaries and not interfere with the courtship. Now son," Choza couldn't help but pry, "do tell me there _will be_ a courtship?"

A new light on his son's face brought a sparkle to Choza's eye, one that fancied plenty of plump grandkids running around at his feet. Choji nodded to him, "Yes, Father."

(o)

Choji raced home to his apartment after the long and grueling clan meeting. Unable to stop himself, he knocked on Tenten's door. Before the shock of realization swept over her as to whom she opened the door to, Choji lurched inside and shut the door, announcing with certainty that he would not be marrying anyone from Grass, or have his marriage arranged for him. He explained with short forceful sentences that the Elders agreed that he could court whomever he wanted. He then found the scroll document that had her tentatively scheduled to escort his marriage prospect, and tore it up in front of her. She looked on with his actions with wide-eye amusement and stunned reticence.

After he dropped the last bit of scroll, he crossed the room to her side, and then he picked her up in his arms and kissed her fervently on the mouth without hesitation.

Of course at this moment, Choji began to panic. He had never had so much bravado in his life to even remotely do something as bold as forcing himself into someone's apartment and wrecking their property and then continuing on with what a police report would read as a physical assault. Images of being handcuffed and thrown in jail came to mind as all of this dawned on him, a large part of him mentally going over just how beat up he would be by the girl he was kissing while ticking off in his brain just how many weapon's he spotted lining her wall while he was making his big speech.

But then he heard something that made his brain catch up to the fact that he hadn't been bludgeoned with anything yet.

It was a soft little moan coming from the back of her throat as his lips attacked hers. His hands had already latched around her hips to hike her up to eye, or lip-level. As he fought for air and sanity at that point, he noted that she was, indeed, reciprocating the affection.

No jail.

No disembowelment.

No screaming kunoichi threatening to take away his man-hood.

No thought process left as her tongue began to weave its way over his teeth and across his lips and _damn_, she tasted good. He had to break for air before his hands began to roam in places he would _definitely_ get in trouble for.

They panted for air until one of them was finally able to speak.

"So, I take it you want to court me?" Choji noted her swollen pink lips as she let the sentence escape her breathlessly.

Choji nodded.

"If you are okay with the Akimichi heir courting you." He responded.

"And if I'm not?" Tenten asked mischievously as she raised an eyebrow.

"Well then," Choji placed a hot kiss along the curve of her neck, "I will just have to convince you."

Tenten played along, "I think I might need _a lot_ of convincing."

(o)

More crack, just for the hellovit. There just ain't a lot of Choji love. The big guy needs him some lovin'.

Post a review with "Choji needs more lovins!" if you like.

Shameless, I know.

Cheers! And thank you my loyal fans!

~jaggedwhitejacket~


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